LATEOTW : Growing Pains
by Avirra
Summary: Another segment in the 'What If' world of 'Life after the end of the world' LATEOTW for short . Events begin approximately five years after the end of 'Courtship LATEOTW early years'.
1. Chapter 1

**Part I**

The roar and howl was in near perfect unison. The ringing cacophony unnerved the pair supporting the weight of the small cage, but the one behind them would have none of abandoning it after they'd come so far. Inside the rocking cage, the two small girls exchanged a glance. Their parents weren't happy.

Of course, 'not happy' was a gross understatement. No-one would have wanted to get close enough to Ororo, Victor, Logan or Rahne to make judgment calls on which was the most upset. Adimu, Victor and Ororo's only daughter, was missing - and so was Moira, one of Logan and Rahne's daughters. The two girls were near in age and spent a great deal of time together, either on Pack or Pride land. They'd gone missing on Pack land. Which probably gave Logan and Rahne an edge (however slight) in the pissed-off category.

It was Victor who regained his equilibrium first. That is, if you could refer to slipping into cold, hard killer mode as 'gaining equilibrium'. The ice in his voice got the attention of the other three immediately.

"Everyone take a breath. Ain't scentin' any significant amount o' blood - ain't scentin' any death. Rahne? I know you ain't gonna like this, little sister, but I need you t' go back. Guard what's left o' yer pups an' my cubs. We three can bring back our girls, but not if our attention is divided worryin' 'bout th' rest o' our young."

Victor was right, Rahne didn't care for it, but him calling her 'little sister' got her at least calm enough that she didn't snap at him when he laid his hands on her shoulders.

"This is gonna mean killing, Rahne."

"I can deal out death when needs call fer it, Victor."

"I know you can – an' what I'm askin' you t' do might lead t' that need as well. We're dealing with folks that ain't got th' balls t' face full-grown fighters an' we got a lotta youngsters in both camps vulnerable. Plus, we need t' make sure at least one o' our prime hunters is gonna be able t' provide th' protein for healings. No use hoping we'll all come through unscathed – gotta prepare fer worst case scenario. If I didn't think we'd need a set o' eyes in th' sky, I'd be askin' 'Ro t' go back with you."

Reluctantly, she met his eyes, then glanced to Logan. He gave her a stiff nod, not trusting himself to talk. The low growl constantly coming from him said enough.

"Aye... yer right. I'll rip apart any that try t' touch any of the rest o' our kin."

"I know you will. S'why I trust you with this."

Rahne drew a deep breath, then moved to share a brief, fierce embrace with Logan before shifting and dropping to the ground to rush back to the Pack. She would sound the alert there before heading to the Pride to gather Victor and Ororo's remaining young. She felt a fleeting moment of sympathy for the three humans she'd scented, but that was quickly squashed. They had touched one of her pups - the one she'd named after her Mum. They deserved what they were about to receive. And, God help her for feeling this way, she knew they would suffer and she was glad.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part II**

Adimu gave only the briefest of glances at the men – her poppa had warned her about humans once and one thing he'd said was that staring made them jumpy. Scavengers, he'd called them. And dangerous to young cubs. Not that she was actually terribly worried about herself. She was more worried about her slightly younger cousin. Moira was quiet and rather shy – especially for their families. All of this, the capture, the caging and now being carried away? It had her very upset, though such noises as she made were slight and unlikely to be picked up on by the humans ears.

For her part, Adimu was quite sure her poppa's assessment had been right. Even though there were three full grown humans, they hadn't gone after any adults or even any of the larger kids. One thing Adimu and Moira had in common besides closeness in age was being small in build. But that was alright too. She just kept breathing deeply to keep herself calm and went over some of the lessons her poppa had taught her when momma hadn't been too near.

Adimu knew that she looked delicate – her poppa told her if she ever found herself in trouble to play that up. Pretend to be delicate and fragile as a newborn fawn. Humans had a trait of not taking things smaller than themselves seriously. Be patient and look for the opportunity that was bound to occur, but be ready because that opportunity might only come once. And when it did? She was supposed to show them just how much of a poppa's girl she really was.

One thing was starting to bother her though - these men **knew **who their fathers were. Even used those weird names of Wolverine and Sabretooth for them. And though the two carrying the cage they were in were obviously nervous, the one giving the orders wasn't. In fact, he had even seemed pleased when he'd heard the roaring. Her brow furrowed as she thought back. He had muttered something like _'it won't be long now' . _

The more she thought about that, the more it worried her. Why would anyone want to make someone like her poppa mad? She knew there was a lot of stuff that didn't make sense to her at her age, especially where humans were concerned. But that? That really didn't make any sense. Unless...

She got Moira's attention by giving a soft growl, then spoke very softly. The men didn't seem to hear anything, so that was something else her poppa had been right about - human hearing wasn't very good.

"Moira, I think we can get you out. I'm a better climber, but you're the better runner. You need to get to our dads and warn them that these men seem to want them to chase them. When you get the chance, you run. Don't listen to anything they say - don't listen to anything I say to them. Just run and don't look back."

The glint in Adimu's eyes was seen by Moira, who reached out for her hand. Moira knew Adimu's temper better than most - arguing would only take time and not change her mind in the least. Besides, Adimu was right. Countless footraces had proved which of them was fastest. Plus, Adimu was oldest. Pack and Pride law put her in charge.

Moira closed her eyes briefly and took a few deep breaths. She gave a tiny nod when she felt the light squeeze on her hand, then began to bawl without warning. Which didn't seem to phase their captors until it became clear that she was sobbing about needing to go pee.

Despite the circumstances, it still amused Adimu at how embarrassed the men seemed to get. She figured that none of them really had a lot of experience with young cubs if they didn't take that particular need into account. It took a few minutes of debate during which Moira did (unknown to the men, of course) a credible, if exaggerated, imitation of her youngest brother, Doug.

Finally they lowered the cage to the ground and the leader came up and released the door to let Moira out. He kept an eye on Adimu, but she merely sat still, trying to look timid. It was hard to be still and not look as anxious as she was. She just had to hope that Moira would keep her nerve and run faster than she'd ever run before.

Moira had scrambled out of the cage and headed straight for a bush like she was desperate. Actually, that wasn't a lie. Something about the scare, and now her nerves, had really made her have to go, so she didn't have to fake the need. Once it was obvious that she really was relieving herself, the men all turned their heads. That surprised her, but Moira wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. While their gaze was averted, she shifted to a sleek young she-wolf pup. She had just finished the shift when one of them started to turn back around to tell her to hurry. Well, she did hurry, but not in the way he meant. She took a breath then took off in a full run as the he began to shout for her to stop as the other two chorused in curses and threats.

A few seconds later, Adimu's wail reached her ears and she almost turned back. But Adimu's orders to ignore everything and run came back to her. Shutting out everything, she kept going, losing track of time and distance as she just concentrated on keeping moving as quickly as she could. What finally stopped her headlong run was hitting a very solid object. Namely, her father. Fortunately for her, he shifted his stance so that he grabbed onto her rather than her literally running into him. With the metal merged to his bones, that would have been worse than running into a tree.

He held her tightly and protectively as she panted to catch her breath. She could smell Uncle Vic as he circled impatiently, but he didn't growl or get snappish with her as he waited for her to be able to talk. Finally, she shifted back but her father had to tell her to take another deep breath and speak slower. She went straight to what Adimu had said was important with no preamble.

"The men... they know who you and Uncle Vic are, Daddy - but they call you Wolverine and Sabretooth instead of your names. And they want you to chase after them. Adimu said you had to know."

That did get the growl to rumble up from Victor, but then he forced a smile and gave Moira's hair a ruffle to assure her he wasn't mad in her direction. Adimu had claimed the leader position and given orders. Not long after the incident with the giant spider, Logan and Victor had pulled everyone together and laid out a new law for everyone to follow. If an emergency of any sort arose when the actual leaders weren't present, the eldest of whoever was present was to take the leader position. As Logan pointed out, an emergency was no time to be arguing about pecking order. If the eldest knew that someone else could deal with the situation better, well, that was what a leader was supposed to do. Delegate things to the person that was best suited.

This was one circumstance they really hadn't figured on though - two of their young being in that situation. But as he glared into the distance thinking, Victor really couldn't see that the law was a bad one even under that condition. The eldest had taken charge and at least one of them was free. Plus Moira had brought back information that put a whole new light on things. Prey that wants you to chase it isn't prey any longer. It's a fellow predator making use of a lure.

Ororo had landed delicately nearby and it was agreed that she should take Moira back to the Pack - she could get there and back the quickest. Logan gave his pup another hug then exchanged a look with Victor once Ororo had flown off with her.

"Guys wantin' us t' chase 'em must have somethin' they plan t' use when we show, Vic."

Victor nodded as he reached down to remove his boots. He planned to go fast and silent - barefooted was the way to go. Logan watched for a moment, then removed his own boots. Victor noted that with a grin that was far more feline than human.

"Yep. But there's a good chance they expect us t' come in hard, fast an' without recon. Let's go show these son o' bitches who the real dominant predators are around these parts, lil brother."


	3. Chapter 3

**Part III**

Despite impatience on both their parts, Logan and Victor waited for Ororo to return. To their surprise, she didn't come back alone. After she landed, Victor moved over, automatically reaching out to ruffle his son's hair.

Victor looked from Kamau to Ororo, opened his mouth, then reshut it, frowning slightly. After another moment of consideration, he started to speak in Russian – a language he knew the older group of X-Men to be fluent in.

"_Why did you bring our cub with you?"_

Kamau tilted his head as his poppa switched languages, then looked back to his momma as she smiled and eased him down to the ground. She answered back in Russian, musing that being multi-lingual had more than one advantage.

"_Our son has the gift of your keen nose and ears without the disadvantage of your weight, husband. I can possibly get the two of us close enough for him to pick up some information from the men without them detecting us."_

Victor nodded at that slowly. Had to admit it wasn't a half-bad idea especially after what Moira had told them. He gave his eldest another ruffle as he switched back to English.

"Alright, Kamau. I'm sure yer Ma's already gone over this or a variation o' it with you, but listen up anyway. Some things bear repeatin'. You need t' be stealthy. Them men just lost Moira so they're gonna be jumpy. No talkin' - not even a whisper that you feel sure nobody'd hear. When yer Ma gets you close enough t' be able t' hear what they're sayin', you give her right arm two taps so she knows she ain't gotta risk goin' any closer. You hear somethin' important that needs t' get relayed over t' either yer Ma or me, you tap her left arm three times so she knows to get back outta range so they won't hear you speakin'. But even then, you wait until she gives you th' all-clear 'fore you make a sound. Understand?"

Kamau just nodded solemnly then glanced back up at his mother as Ororo smiled down at him. Victor drew her attention back to him as he laid a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"'Ro, Jimmy an' me are gonna backtrack Moira, but we'll hang back on catchin' up t' that scum until we hear from you two."

Ororo leaned over and kissed him before picking their son back up. Then Victor stepped back and watched as Ororo flew off with Kamau. He was really just speaking to himself but, of course with his hearing, Logan heard him.

"Well... I told her that I knew life was gonna throw crap at 'em. Just had hoped it'd waited until they'd at least hit puberty."

Logan moved over and gave Victor a nudge.

"Like that ol' rhyme thing, Vic - _'if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride'._"

That got a snort in reply.

"No horses fer either o' us - but time t' stretch our legs some. Com'on - let's backtrack yer girl."

"Give 'Ro an' yer boy a few minutes, Vic. My Moira can run an' run fast, but at her age, her stamina ain't all that. She wasn't runnin' as long as it musta felt like t' her. An' th' guys we're after ain't runnin' themselves. I know you want blood an' I sure th' hell ain't gonna be th' one t' tell you you can't have yer fill. They went after our young. They're meat t' be wasted."

"No argument there, Jimmy... somethin' 'bout this smells bad though."

Victor scowled, trying to put words to his feelings. He couldn't come up with anything to explain his apprehension any clearer though, so he just gave up. Snatching up the boots he'd taken off earlier, he hung them from a nearby tree branch.

"Been long enough. Let's go."

He almost snapped at Logan's restraining hand on his arm until he noticed Logan's eyes were looking upward. He followed the gaze, going still as he saw his mate and son coming back quickly. Victor's first thought when he noticed how fast they were returning?

_"Damn - this ain't gonna be good news."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Part IV**

Victor found himself a rock to sit on, forcing himself not to be pacing when Ororo and Kamau landed. As soon as his feet were on the ground, Kamau ran over to him. Victor reached out and gently took hold of him by his shoulders.

"Take a second. Don't jump t' what you think is important, just tell us everythin' you remember hearin' in order. Things might mean somethin' t' me an' yer Uncle Jimmy that might not sound like much t' you. Alright - deep breath. Begin."

Kamau closed his eyes briefly, then started talking.

"Momma got us within view of them for a second. They've stopped moving for now. They don't seem mad about losing Moira. One of them said that means they don't have to worry 'bout Wolverine now. They talk like you don't like each other at all."

Victor shifted his gaze briefly to meet Logan's eyes. Whoever these men were, they were working with information from back before the bombs fell. They might be able to work that to their advantage.

"I've told you stories 'bout th' past 'fore this, cub. Me an' JImmy had a few... rough patches over th' years."

Kamau nodded.

"I know, Poppa - but they made it sound like the two of you were likely to kill each other."

Logan spoke up then.

"Old stories that we'll tell you one day, kiddo. But you know that even when me an' yer pop are just foolin' around, it can look mighty serious t' folks that don't understand ferals."

That seemed to make sense to Kamau and he nodded again before continuing.

"Poppa - it isn't anything I heard, but I smelled more people than we saw. And they were talking like they'd just gotten orders."

"Mebbe someone had just left 'fore you got a look down, son. What sorta orders?"

"Staying where they were and using Sis to draw you out. She was in a little cage - too small to stand up in even for her."

Victor went very still as he was thinking, not even moving when Kamau laid a hand on his knee. Then he gave his head a shake, looking like a lion shooing a fly off an ear.

"Well... let's give th' people what they want."

That apparently was not what Ororo was expecting to hear.

"You cannot be serious."

"I'm very serious, 'Ro. I'm willin' t' take th' bet that I can survive anything they have t' throw at me. Our gal's another story. If we make 'em wait much longer fer me, they're gonna start wonderin' if I've changed. That's th' last thing we want 'em t' be ponderin'. I'll go in like I'm solo - you'll be standin' by an' watchin' fer an openin' t' get Adimu th' hell outta there. Once th' kitten is safe, well.. all holds are off then."

Ororo plainly didn't care for the plan in the least, but Logan was able to make it at least a little more palatable for her.

"We go in on th' attack an' they panic? Well, if Adimu was in a stiuation where she could run, that might be alright, but in a cage? They could hurt her bad 'fore any o' us could do anything 'bout it. She might have inherited th' family healin' - but you really wanna risk findin' out th' hard way when we might not have t'?"

Victor moved over and cupped her chin in his massive hand, tilting her eyes up to meet his.

"I'm a stubborn ol' bastard, babe. I'll be comin' back."

She gave him a smile as she laid her hand on his wrist.

"You better."

He looked toward the direction Moira had come from, then looked back over to Logan.

"Won't be talkin' t' either o' you past this. See you soon."

Dropping his hand, he moved off, disappearing into the undergrowth in seconds. Logan watched as he blended into the woods, then looked from Ororo to Kamau, not certain whether the boy was staying with them or not.

Ororo answered that by speaking directly to Kamau.

"My son - go to Aunt Rahne. You are the head of our family until we return. Guard your brother as we would guard you."

Kamau nodded, but then gave her a hard hug before breaking away and starting to run back to the Pack. Logan knew from long years with Ororo how hard it was to let him go. He moved to her side, careful not to notice how bright her eyes were.

"You've raised a good, strong cub there, 'Ro. He's doin' his part. Let's me an' you go do ours."


	5. Chapter 5

**Part V**

Once on the move, Victor blocked out of his thoughts were Ororo and Logan might be. All of his focus was on moving silently through the woods.

He wasn't a hundred percent sure if the way he and his brother could move was part of their mutant abilities or if it was a skill they had learned so young during their wilderness days that it was second-nature to them now. What he did know was, even after the addition of the metal that slowed and made Logan considerably heavier, both of them were capable of walking up close enough to a skittish deer and touching it before it was aware of their presence.

The wind shifted and he caught scent of his kitten as well as the three with her. He moved closer slowly, keeping track of the winds and staying upwind of the group. It took a bit longer for him to get close enough to start to hear what was being said.

"Girl is asleep. Shouldn't we keep her awake? How's she going to draw him if she's not making any noise?"

"Didn't you listen to anything we were told about Sabretooth? He's not going to go by sound, he'll go by smell. Besides, she wasn't making much noise even when she was awake."

"We could make her make noises easy enough."

His eyes narrowed as Adimu's scent changed slightly. The men were scaring her with that talk. That meant she wasn't really asleep, just pretending to be to conserve her strength. Clever kitten. She'd been paying attention during their little training sessions. Still, that was **his** kitten those scum were scaring. He'd heard enough. He rather enjoyed the tang of fear their scents took on when he spoke up behind them.

"Of course, if you decide t' make her make noise by hurtin' her, yer gonna just piss me off more'n I already am. You wanted me? I'm here. Release th' gal."

The growl undertone in his voice was plain even to their ears and Adimu dropped her act at the sound. She remained still, though.

The three obviously weren't expecting this approach at all and seemed at a loss as to how to respond. Then one finally cleared his throat.

"She stays. If we let her go, there's nothing to prevent you from running off with her."

The growl grew more menacing.

"I can't say I'm seein' a helluva lot t' keep me from leavin' with her any way."

With the spikes in the scents, he almost missed that extra scent Kamau had spoken of. Unlike his cub, he **knew** that scent. Knew it was trouble, but the identity had clicked in too late for that knowledge to do him any good. All he had time to do was to snarl and begin to shift into a defensive position.

Ororo and Logan made it to a vantage point just as Victor snarled. There was nothing that they could see that would have triggered his reaction. But what they saw next was even more puzzling and disturbing.

They didn't see any of the three men make a move, but a flash bomb of some sort went off right in front of Victor. Their vision seemed to blur and when it cleared, Victor's arms were locked into a metallic device that looked sickeningly familiar to Logan. He'd been locked into something very similar to it himself once.

"Well, well. Look what the fleas have drug in."

Then as the new voice spoke, it was all he could do to force himself to stay silent. He and 'Ro couldn't do Vic any good if they got themselves captured as well. He reached out a hand to 'Ro, who took and held it tightly. Things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part VI**

The smirk in the voice instilled in Victor the hot desire to rip it off of that self-satisfied face. The fact that his snarling was being treated as a source of further amusement wasn't improving his mood either.

"In these changing times, it is somewhat reassuring to see that some things are still the same. You're still the same mangy alley cat that you've always been, Sabretooth. Where is my father?"

"Where he wants t' be, Pietro. Let loose th' girl."

It didn't appear as if the mutant also called Quicksilver even moved except for the fact that Victor now had a trickle of blood coming from his mouth. Pietro tossed something that hadn't been in his hand a second ago to one of the men.

"Wrong answer, Sabretooth. And in case it has escaped your notice, you are hardly in a position to be issuing demands. Now, are you going to answer my question?"

"Go t' hell, Junior."

The silver-haired speedster sighed as he ran a hand along a two-inch thick wooden staff that seemed to magically appear.

"Jackson? Muzzle the beast."

The hissing at his side sounded thunderous to Logan, then again, Ororo was right beside him. He was trying to keep her calm enough to keep the weather from reflecting her mood, but sitting still was fraying his patience as much as hers. Especially with the scene going on before them.

Victor had no intentions of making anything easy. Jackson was making no headway on fastening the muzzle onto him even with the help of the other two men. Pietro had moved to the side of Adimu's cage and was watching the struggle with a bemused detachment.

For her part, Adimu had started out being scared when she saw her poppa in the odd restraints, but now she was experiencing a new emotion she didn't have a name for. And for some reason, that feeling was bringing pain with it. Her head hurt worse than she could have imagined anything could hurt. Her hands and feet were throbbing and felt hot like she had them too close to a fire. Even worse to her, all the sensations were increasing to the point that she couldn't even pay attention to anything around her any more. She just held her head and made a soft whimpering sound.

Meanwhile, the men made the near fatal mistake of forgetting that while Victor's arms were pinned, his legs were still free. Lashing out, the claws of his right foot sliced deeply into one man's thigh while Jackson dropped the muzzle with a scream as Victor's fangs sank into his arm.

"Must I do everything myself?"

Less than two heartbeats later, Pietro was back beside the cage, tossing aside what was left of the staff he'd broken against Victor's head. For his part, Victor was momentarily down, bleeding heavily – it had taken multiple blows before the wood had cracked.

"He'll recover from that rather quickly. I'd advise you clods to finish securing Sabretooth now or he'll be likely to do additional damage before you get him drug back."

"You want us to drag him? He weighs a ton! Are you insane?"

Less than a heartbeat later, the man that had spoken was on the ground and about to discover that his nose was broken.

Pietro was clearly furious.

"First and last warning, Taylor. Speak to me in such a fashion again and it will not be your nose that gets broken. It will be your scrawny neck."

Then the anger seemed to fall away like a mask.

"But have it your way. We'll string him up here for questioning. Make preparations for disemboweling the beast while I take a better look at my new pet."

Pietro moved back toward the cage, clearly relishing the sounds of struggle behind him as the men worked on dragging the huge mutant over to a tree with branches sturdy enough to support his weight. As Pietro opened the door to Adimu's cage, Logan's head suddenly snapped up and startled Ororo. What he said next startled her even more.

"Com'on, 'Ro - we gotta get down there 'fore it's too late!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Part VII**

Pietro reached inside the cage, pulling out the young girl who was now in a near fetal position. A thumb was in her mouth, making her look even younger. A dark stain in her hair caught his attention. Frowning slightly, it took him a moment to spot the bruising near her hairline.

Scowling, he looked back over to the men as they hoisted Victor up into a kneeling position.

"Weren't my instructions to secure the child without damage? How incompetent are you that three of you couldn't even manage to grab an infant less than a tenth your size without striking her?"

They mumbled among themselves, but none of them spoke back to Pietro. Fortunately for them, he had just noticed Victor's eyes on him and began to smile. Shackled, muzzled and tethered, the cat wasn't going anywhere. Might as well let him know what was in store for him until he finally decided to cooperate.

Lifting the girl, he carried her as easily as a large doll as he moved over to the tree. She was limp, like an unconscious person. Or a cat. His eyes weren't on her any longer, so he didn't notice when her eyes slightly opened.

"Now... where was I? Ah yes... I am, of course, fully aware of that vaunted healing factor of yours, but it seems to me that it should be something that I should be able to take advantage of. For instance, the disemboweling I mentioned earlier. I plan to spread your entrails about - might even be fitting to make a cat's cradle out of them in the trees. While they are still a part of you, but outside your abdomen, I am of the opinion that your healing factor will probably keep you alive, but full healing will be impossible."

"I also am of the opinion that the local wildlife will take a great interest in the display. Between the bird, insects and other scavengers, I'm sure there is only so much of that you will care to endure before telling me what I want to know. Jackson? Cut him open."

Victor just glared at him, but then the wind shifted slightly and he picked up a scent. He began struggling harder against his bonds. Pietro assumed it was in reaction to the knife coming toward him.

"Put her down, you asshole!"

Pietro was a bit surprised that Sabretooth still felt he could give out orders, but decided that it was simply a bit of impotent bravado.

"I think not. She's young enough that I should be able to turn her over to some of my people to be raised. She might grow into a decent tracker that we can use to locate and eradicate the rest of your kind."

As the knife was plunged in, the hot smell of Victor's blood hit the air, strong enough to sting even the human noses in the area. After that, several things happened in rapid succession.

Jackson hesitated half-way through the gutting procedure and vomited. He'd never done anything like it before and hadn't imagine it would be such a nasty business. Victor roared, not from pain but from frustration at not being able to reach Adimu. Pietro yelled at Jackson.

"Can't you even manage to do that ri..."

His yelling was cut off suddenly as Ororo and Logan burst onto the scene themselves. Ororo was staring in shock, Logan was snarling.

"Dammit... we're too late."


	8. Chapter 8

**Part VIII**

Logan broke through Ororo's shock by barking out an order.

"Send up a flare, woman – we need help an' we needed it yesterday."

His tone snapped her into action and a crack of thunder sounded. The groups had been together long enough to recognize and respond to the various long distance signals of their acknowledged leaders. By now, everyone knew about the attack on Moira and Adimu and everyone also knew that the combination of Logan, Victor and Ororo was generally beyond capable of taking care of things on their own. If the three of them sent out an S.O.S.? It was serious business.

Bobby and Hank were among the designated responders, scrambling to grab their emergency gear. Erik wasn't one of the designated responders, but he offered to come with them and, with an unknown threat ahead, they accepted and tossed him some of the gear to carry. The rest of the Pack and Pride were going into defensive stance. If trouble spilled over their way, they'd be as ready as they could be to meet it head-on.

In the meantime, Logan was easing over. Pietro was on his knees, trying to use his hands to staunch the flow of blood coming from his neck. Jackson was still being sick while Taylor and the remaining man were backing up slowly from a small figure that was blood-covered, hissing and spitting like an angry cougar-sized cat. What really had the men freaked though were her eyes. When Logan got close enough to get a look, Adimu's eyes were crackling with energy the way Ororo's did when she was furious.

The scent Logan had caught on the air hadn't lied. The stress had accelerated Adimu's mutancy and she was fully feral at the moment. He continued to approach her cautiously. It wasn't that he was afraid of her, he was afraid for her. He certainly didn't want to hurt her or for her to hurt herself, but the way she snarled when she noticed him told him that she wasn't recognizing him in her current state of mind.

While he was trying to decide what his next move should be, Logan heard Victor make a sound that he couldn't remember ever hearing his brother make before. It was a low, guttural sound. Almost reminded him of the noise some drunks make just before puking, but more controlled. But whatever it was, Adimu was responding to it. She was backing away from the two men and retreating to take up position by her father.

Good. That freed Logan up to kick a little ass. The two that had been backing from Adimu would have been better off if they'd saved their energy for running. Not that it would have helped much. Logan was mad, needed an outlet and the pair of them were handy.

The scene Bobby and Hank came in on was confusing to say the least. Adimu hissed at them, Victor was still tethered to the tree limb with an unknown man heaving in front of him. Logan was stomping the crap out of two other unknowns and Ororo was quelling her urge to strangle Pietro while trying to help stop the bleeding. The chaos wasn't improved when Erik showed up a few moments behind them. Part of Erik had always wondered if Pietro had been one of the ones killed during the attack on Creed's family years ago. So the sight of his son alive, but possibly bleeding to death, called up a mix of emotions.

Hank did a rapid mental triage. Victor - nasty cut, bleeding, but healing factor would keep that from getting too bad. Medium priority. Adimu - bad time to approach her and the blood didn't seem to be hers. Low priority. Puking guy? Unknown - very low priority. Guys getting stomped by Logan? Likely deserve it, move on. Ororo and Logan both appeared unhurt so that moved Pietro into the number one position, though Hank suspected highly that Pietro was not an ally in all of this. Still, unless called to back down, he'd do what he could for the man. The whole assessment had only taken a few seconds, then he began giving orders.

"Robert, please drop the temperature around Pietro so that I can start working. Erik? Would you be so kind as to assist Victor? If you can manage without further upsetting or being bitten by the young lass, I would appreciate it. I have enough stitching to do as it is.

Hank was already moving to Pietro's side and examining the wounds. It was fairly obvious who it was that had done the damage.

The blood loss was bad, but that was due more to Pietro's rapid heartbeat than the size of the wound. If Adimu had been older, the story would have been far different.

"Whether you feel lucky or not, you are. Not that you won't need some recovery time but if you settle down and let me do my work, you should live to act imperious again."

Erik forced himself away - he would really only be in Hank's way - and turned his attention to Creed. He quirked a brow when Adimu snarled. It would have almost been cute, but the bloody streaks going down her chin rather negated the cute aspect. Glancing from her back to Pietro, he frowned slightly then shook his head. More than enough time to worry about implications later.

Reaching out with his powers, Erik quickly dismantled the metal components of the shackles. What remained was easily dealt with by Creed himself.

Once he was free, Victor made the odd guttural noise again and Adimu climbed up into his arms. Whatever he said to her as he nuzzled her was pitched too low for even Logan to overhear, but she began sobbing and clung to her father tightly. Seeing that, Ororo looked down to Hank.

"I have things well under control now, my dear. Go tend to your family."

_For those that might be interested in hearing something close to the sound Victor was making - go to YouTube and search for 'lion calling brothers'. _


	9. Chapter 9

**Part IX**

Logan drug over the two he'd pummeled, dumping their semi-conscious forms very deliberately on top of Jackson, who had finally stopped heaving.

"You boys stay there. You try t' leave, yer gonna piss me off an' then I might really give you a beat down."

Joining Ororo on her way over to Victor and Adimu, he gave a faint smile when Adimu's tear and blood streaked face turned toward them. Her eyes were back to their normal china blue. That was a relief. He stopped walking when he felt Ororo touch his arm.

"Logan? What did you mean when you said we were too late?"

There was a pause, then Logan led Ororo a bit further away from Victor and Adimu before answering.

"I was wrong. Thankfully. I thought she'd killed Pietro."

"I was tempted to kill him myself... I'm not sure I understand."

Running a hand through his hair, Logan glanced back toward his brother.

"Guess you can call it a goal me an' Vic have, 'Ro. Both o' us ended up killin' when we were real young. You know it for yerself that somethin' changes th' first time you kill a man. There's an innocence o' sorts that's lost an' it don't come back. We're realistic. Kids are gonna grow up. There are gonna be folks messin' with us. Gonna be fights. Gonna be deaths. But we're hopin' t' get the kids through puberty 'fore they have to get that kinda blood on their hands."

Ororo glanced back over to her husband and daughter. She remembered very vividly the first time she'd killed and Logan was right. It was a line that once crossed couldn't be stepped back over again.

Logan noted the slight shudder and looped an arm around her waist.

"As for th' rest, well... her mutation's gone full blown early, but that happens sometimes. An' she's got what none o' th' three o' us had. She's got kin around her that've been there an' can help her understand an' adjust. Y'know, I don't know if you ever got close enough or at th' right angle t' see, but th' kitten's eyes were sparkin'. I get th' feelin' that when she bit him, ol' Pietro got more'n one kinda shock."

"Good. Just because I'm glad Adimu didn't kill him doesn't mean I'm not equally glad he was hurt. And I still have the urge to throttle him."

"Eh, only natural, 'Ro. He messed with yer mate an' kitten. Com'on."

They moved back over to Victor and Adimu gave up her hold on him to go up into her mother's strong arms. The aborted attempt at disemboweling had finished healing. Victor reached for the dropped knife as he got up, casually spearing through Jackson's hand with it before stepping over him.

Victor didn't bother even brushing the dirt off of himself as he looked back to Logan and Ororo. The exchanged glance was all that was needed as they moved to join him and walk together to where Hank was finishing applying the last bandage to Pietro. Glancing over his shoulder at their approach, Hank wondered if he should keep his medical kit open a bit longer. After a moment of reflection, he closed the kit. If Victor was going to do anything, he wouldn't have let him waste his time fixing the man's throat.

Victor barely gave Pietro a glance, he was focused on Hank.

"What's th' verdict?"

"He will be fine. Or if he isn't it will only be due to his choice to ignore the wise words of his physician. No permanent damage beyond a possible bit of scarring, but if he guards against infection even that will be minimal."

Irritated at both finding himself dependant on their charity and being ignored, Pietro spoke. His tone, like his mood, was dark.

"I suppose you people are expecting gratitude."

Ororo's eyes flashed as she took a step closer.

"Myself? No. I expect for you to act self-absorbed and entitled. So far, you're exceeding expectations."

That got a snort of laughter out of both of the feral brothers.

"S'why I love that woman. She ain't afraid t' tell it like it is."

Victor stopped before saying anything else, giving a glance over to Adimu. Ororo just gave a slight nod, then spoke to Hank.

"Would you mind taking Adimu home? She's had a hard day."

Hank moved over and opened his arms for her.

"I would be delighted to escort the young lady home. Shall we expect you shortly?"

Logan read the question behind the question and nodded.

"Yeh - we won't be long. No point coming back."

Reluctantly, Adimu went to Hank. It wasn't that she didn't adore him, it was that she didn't want to leave her parents. But she knew better than to argue. Besides, now that the adrenaline had faded, she was very tired.

"Excelsior, dear comrades. We shall have sustenance awaiting your return."

Victor watched until Hank and his daughter were out of sight, then shook his head.

"Good man, but I wish t' hell he'd learn t' speak English."


	10. Chapter 10

**Part X**

Once Hank and Adimu were gone, Victor turned his gaze back to Pietro. His eyes were cold as a shark's and nearly as dark.

"I understand you'll be needin' recovery time. Fine. But not in my territory. Only reason I was alright with McCoy repairin' you in th' first place ain't got a thing t' do with any concern fer you. That was **my **kitten who you had stuffed into a cage. You can go rot fer all I care. An' you come anywhere near me or mine again, you **will **rot."

Ororo came to stand firmly by Victor's side.

"Whatever Logan and Erik choose to do is up to them, but my husband spoke for us both. If you had limited your attacks to us? But no. For some things, there is no forgiveness."

Pietro sneered at her tone.

"But the slaughter you did five years ago should be forgotten as if it never happened?"

Victor came very close to saying 'the hell with it' and ripping Pietro open on the spot, but Ororo's hand touching him was enough to keep his temper in check. For now. Still, his voice was underlined with a growl as he replied.

"They came here lookin' for trouble. They found it."

A distant rumble of thunder joined in as Ororo added her own observations.

"And hardly what I would define as a slaughter. They ambushed us. But they either underestimated us or overestimated themselves."

Erik still hadn't spoken, but an new possibility had occured to him about that attack. Victor implying he wouldn't care to hear details and Pietro's anger? Most living beings only had Pietro's contempt and the majority of the remainder weren't ones he would normally go out of his way for. That could well mean... When he finally spoke, it was to Victor and not his son.

"One of them - it was Wanda, wasn't it?"

Pietro gave his father an incredulous look.

"You've been living among these savages and didn't even bother to find out who had died?"

Erik didn't respond to Pietro. Instead, he turned to Logan.

"Am I correct in assuming that you would also prefer Pietro stay off of your lands?"

"Very correct. Y'know how we _savages _are. Territorial an' all that."

"I'll tend to him here then. And to his men as well."

Ororo started to speak, but Victor touched her hand and once he had her attention, shook his head slightly. Without another word, Victor called Robert over with a gesture and the four of them turned and departed back into the woods.


	11. Chapter 11

**Part XI**

The clearing was quiet. The others were long gone and darkness had fallen. Only a few insect noises broke the silence as Erik looked thoughtfully at the moon as it slowly cleared the horizon. When he finally began to speak, his voice sounded tired.

"I suppose your temper shouldn't have come as a surprise to any one. After all, it was truly my temper that frightened your mother so much that she ran from me. I don't believe it was the powers - what I remember of her words that I heard through my haze of battle... the powers surprised her, but they didn't scare her. It was the killing. She was a gentle soul born in horrid times. If I had lashed out in self-defense and killed, even then, I think she would have stayed. But I lost control - there is no other word for what I did that day than slaughter. She was a strong woman - she made up her mind that she could not live with the killer that I had become and she left. I don't know if you can appreciate how difficult that was for a woman of that time. The same determination and strength of spirit that got her through the camps saw her through to where she finally birthed you and Wanda."

Erik rubbed his right temple lightly, then looked briefly to Pietro.

"If I could go back in time, I think one thing that I would change is telling you and your sister that I was your father. It wasn't as if you were still of an age for a father to do you any good. I'm afraid all I managed was to muddle both of you emotionally. Rock what little stability you had gained. I hope you can believe that was never my intent. Looking back, it was selfishness on my part. You both had gained things that I had never managed. And I was lonely. So I bulled my way into your lives and frankly didn't do any of us any favors."

"When I left earlier, it was to find Creed. I needed to know where your sister was buried and I knew he'd remember. He was actually sorry for her death - which means neither he or Ororo were the ones that killed her. Unuscione did. From what they overheard, Wanda had been kept in the dark about there being children present when they attacked Creed's home and was highly upset with the rest of the group. You know Unuscione's temper. She took the same view of Wanda wanting to protect a feral child as she once viewed the X-Men for protecting humans. Wanda never saw the attack coming."

"Unuscione and the other two that had come on the mission were having an animated discussion about whether or not they might be able to convince me that Creed had attacked Wanda, who struck back and killed him before succumbing to her own wounds. Of course, Ororo and Creed rather removed the need for that argument. Does it feel strange that they were actually the avengers of Wanda's death instead of the cause of it?"

"Much as it pains me to admit it, I am, at least in part, to blame for Wanda's death. I have known many humans that were beyond the characterizations we tended to use. Your mother, for one. No-one should be more aware than I of just how much harm that sort of talk can cause, yet I allowed it and even encouraged it. Ususcione was a product of that. I knew the influence I had - I should have tempered my speech more, but .. that would have made me sound too much like Charles. And there was a time that I did all that I could to avoid sounding like Charles."

"Part of the curse of growing old. Looking back - seeing where a changed action or a different choice of words could have made life so different. Creed has an entirely different way of looking at things - not that it's hard to imagine the two of us not seeing eye to eye. A little harder to imagine, perhaps, that I begin to find his and Logan's viewpoints more... attractive is not really the word. Possibly sensible? Closer."

"Much as I have disparaged their intellect over the years, I cannot escape the fact that the two of them have formed a community that I would have to imagine even Charles would be proud of. Mutants, altereds, humans, various races, various religions - working together, raising their young. An occasional discordant noise, but more harmony than sour notes. The children are growing up with the idea of whatever talents they were born with are as natural as the air around them."

"You will have put a bit of caution into the children with what you did to the two girls, but mostly, you just made the community here that much stronger. Even the most timid among them are protective of the children - and the children's minds will have already made note of the lengths their adults went to in safeguarding them. When I decided to stay here, I made a promise myself - even if only to myself. To safeguard these children until, as Creed would put it, they are old enough to fight their own battles."

A soft sigh escaped him as the darkness grew deeper.

"These are Wanda's remains. I thought it most fitting that they be with you."

Kneeling, he laid the metal encased remains beside the other set of metal encased remains, using a short burst of power to meld them together before maneuvering another piece of metal to shove the piled dirt into the hole. He just remained there, looking at the dirt until a voice spoke behind him. The last voice he would have expected to hear.

"The scavengers are coming out - they're being drawn to the scent. It would be a good time to leave."

Turning his head, Erik saw Dorrie standing, left hand on a tree trunk and her tail switching slowly. Then he slowly rose and brushed off the dirt. He couldn't quite read the expression on her face, but she extended her right hand out to him. As he walked over, he thought back over the day's events. The alarm had first gone up shortly after a pair of squirrels had ran through.

"You don't miss much of what happens around here, do you, Dorrie?"

She just gave a slight smile and glanced to the treetops.

"I try not to. I have a lot of friends in high places."

He didn't take the offered hand, just let his gaze follow hers to the treetops. Then he started the walk back. Dorrie just clasped her hands behind her back and moved alongside. Her not saying anything at all bothered him a bit.

"Do you have anything you were wanting to say?"

She gave him a sideways glance as her tail switched again.

"No. Not really. I mean, I won't pretend that I understand, but if you can live with it, I certainly can."

Erik looked at her again - no, she wasn't being cruel. He hadn't thought so from her tone, but a look at her face confirmed in. Sorrowful but not condemning. He didn't think he would ever understand the woman. And told her so.

"Have I mentioned before that I find you incomprehensible?"

"I believe so. Possibly not those exact words. Why?"

"You've never been shy about letting your opinions be known. Why so quiet now?"

The tail switched another couple of times before she responded.

"What earthly good would it do? Nothing can be undone. Besides, that's pretty much the unforgivable - threatening a kitten."

"Kitten? You sound like Creed."

"Baby squirrels are often called kittens as well."

"Oh."

Then it hit him without warning - hard as a bolt fired from a crossbow. Magda. Wanda. Pietro. Falling to his knees as the totality of his losses hit him, he choked on a sob and then the tears began. As if she had been expecting this, Dorrie knelt in front of him, gathering him to her as if he was a child as she wrapped both her arms and tail around him, letting him weep as long as he needed.

Unknown to both, there were two pairs of eyes watching from the shadows. Logan gave a small frown as they kept an eye out to protect the two from the prowling scavengers.

"Think he'll be alright, Vic?"

"Yeh... he will, Jimmy. Me an' you both had t' kill folks we loved. We lived."

That took Logan off-guard. He knew that Vic knew about Mariko, but that Vic might have had a similar love? That was news to him.

Vic just gave his brother a side-glance.

"We all got our secrets, Runt. Now ain't th' time fer tellin' this one."


	12. Chapter 12

**Part XII**

Life went back into its normal rhythms with a few changes. Between them, Logan and Vic decided that only two others needed to know what happen with Erik and Pietro that day - Hank and Ororo. Much as Logan disliked keeping it from Rahne while informing anyone else, Vic pointed out that Rahne's deeply entrenched religious upbringing would not react well to it and she would never be able to move past it. Ororo might have problems herself, but as one of the major power hitters, she needed to be in the loop in case Magneto lost control of his emotions again - Logan didn't have to be reminded that powers could go a bit berserk at times like those. And Hank? Well, he was their main medical man.

Logan really couldn't disagree with Vic's reasoning. A brief word with Dorrie was all that was needed to settle it. Not that they were worried about Dorrie spreading the word around - for reasons no-one (except possibly Reed) could fathom, Dorrie seemed oddly protective of Erik. And as he began to realize that Dorrie was keeping his secrets to herself, he began to treat her in almost a family way. Not quite a little sister, but at least like a cousin he was very fond of.

As was probably to be expected by the five who knew, the primary change in the camps was Erik. It wasn't as it he became old overnight - Erik wasn't a young man and hadn't been for quite some time. He didn't look any older or move with any less determination. Still, in some way that it was hard to put an exact finger on, he began to **act **like an older man. His attitude toward the children of the two camps became more grandfatherly and once they found out that he had as large of a supply of stories as Bobby? He was rarely without a cluster of them asking for a tale. While not really ready to take on a role as a grandmother herself, Lee approved. The nearness of the children seemed to soothe something in his soul. After awhile, the other parents of the communities accepted Erik's new role as well. After all, as Kitty pointed out '_who's going to be suicidal enough to mess with kids that he's with_?'. "

Both Adimu and Moira had problems with nightmares for awhile, but both their youth and the solid security they felt from their respective families soon had them back to their sunnier selves. Mostly. A touch more cautious and a bit more attentive, but no-one could really say that wasn't a worthwhile change, though possibly a shame that it happened so young.

Still, part of it bothered Adimu during her waking hours. Enough that she tracked down her Papa when he was by himself. To her mind, her question weren't ones that her Mama could answer.

Vic scented her coming - which was a good thing. Adimu was now capable of moving quietly enough that scenting her was the only way he could tell she was near. He put down the wood he was working with and took a seat on the ground, gesturing to her as he did.

"Com'on over, kitten - I was just 'bout t' take a break any way. So - what's up?"

Adimu settled next to him, plucking a blade of grass before speaking.

"Papa... I keep thinking about it. I might have killed him... I think I wanted to."

Vic gave her hair a light ruffle.

"Well, man had threatened yer cousin, wasn't treatin' you nice an' was threatenin' me - don't think there are too many folks'd that wouldn't have been mad at someone that had done all that t' 'em, kitten. Now, let me ask you somethin' back. Does it bother you more that you wanted t' kill him? Or that you tried and didn't?"

Her lower lip went back behind her top teeth as she thought about that, her fangs gleaming in the light. They were longer than they used to be. And sharper. Then she looked back up to his eyes.

"I'm not sure, Papa. I mean, I'm sorta glad that I didn't, but I'm not sure why I didn't. I think it's the not knowing part that's bothering me."

As she paused, Vic wrapped one of his arms around his tiny, fey-like daughter.

"Now, I'm gonna tell you somethin'. All th' moves I've shown you so far? All o' 'em could kill... are designed t' kill. An' those are th' moves I'm teachin' you first even thought I don't expect them t' work for you like they would fer someone like me. Can you figure out why?"

The blue eyes widened a bit at his words, then narrowed in concentration as she thought. Her eyes moved from her own hands to her father's. His were massive in comparison.

"Because... because I'm so little?"

"Exactly right, kitten. Yer age - yer size - you just ain't got th' strength yet fer other moves. You have t' hit hard an' like you mean it fer now, 'cause you won't be able t' do enough damage t' slow down an opponent otherwise, you see? Not t' discourage you, but right now, th' only way you'd land a killin' blow on an adult is through sheer luck or from them not havin' their guard up around you at all."

"Like he did?"

"Yep - exactly like he did. He made a mistake - you took advantage. Exactly like you shoulda done. Now, as you get stronger, I'll be startin' t' teach you more. By then, you'll also be old enough t' start figuring who you need t' use more force on an' who you don't. Nothin' but time an' growin' is goin' t' get you t' that point. Experience ain't a fast teacher, but it's a good'un."

She was silent for awhile, looking down at her hands again. Like her teeth, they were different now than they were before. So were her feet. Watching her focus, Vic reached out and took hold of one of her hands, exerting a little pressure to make her claws pop. Not from her fingertips, but from the first knuckles of her fingers. And when her fingers were folded down to fully expose the claws , the hands looked very much like paws. As for the claws themselves, they were delicate looking and reminded him of crystal. Assuming you could find clear crystal strong and sharp as McCoy's scalpels.

There were small drops of blood at the base of each claw, but no more than that. Along with claws, Adimu had at least some of her father and uncle's healing abilities.

"Papa, why did it hurt so bad when my new claws came out? It still hurts some, but not as bad as before they came out at first"

"All changes we go through generally hurt some, kitten. Some folks call 'em growin' pains. You'll have more o' 'em 'tween now an' when yer a woman like yer Ma. Just another part o' life. An' it may well continue t' hurt some every time yer claws come out. That's how it is fer yer Uncle Jimmy. Or might be more like me an' just be some discomfort not worth mentionin'."

"Kamau hasn't gotten anything like this yet...?"

"An' yer wonderin' why? Well, it's a survival thing near as I can figure it, kitten. When someone like us gets into a bad situation, sometimes our gifts come out early - t' help us get through that bad situation. Both me an' Uncle Jimmy got ours fairly young, but there were situations came up fer both o' us. Ain't none o' us gets t' pick an' chose our times, kitten. Kamau's time'll come when it comes."

There was a longer pause as Adimu snuggled closer and leaned against him.

"Papa? Why do you call him Jimmy and most everybody else calls him Logan?"

"Well... a lotta years, he thought Logan was his name an' th' folks that met him durin' them years still tend t' think o' him as Logan. Me? I knew him first as Jimmy, so generally anythin' I call him other than that is just me bein' a smartass."

"Like Runt?"

"Yep."

"Papa? Am I runtier than he was?"

Vic gave an amused snort to that.

"Boys are runty. Gals are delicate. Consider it a perk o' yer gender, kitten."

That got the giggle from her that he'd been hoping for. As Vic turned his attention back to his woodworking, he had another set of eyes and hands helping.


	13. Chapter 13

**Part XIII**

It wasn't until late fall that Logan brought up what Vic had said again. It was a rare break - fall was always a busy time, but this day was grey and weepy. The majority of the food gathering had already been accomplished, so everyone agreed to take the weather as a cue for a well-deserved break before going into the final push.

The drinking group was small - Grimm, Richards, Hank, Logan and Vic. There was always a chance Vic might choose not to talk around the others, but Logan would never know if he didn't try. Waiting until a fresh round had been poured, Logan raised his own glass slightly.

"If you gents don't mind. A toast - to those we've loved and lost."

The mood of the group sobered as the others briefly raised their glasses as well - though Logan did note that Vic had narrowed his eyes at him before raising his.

Vic downed his glass in one gulp and then favored Logan with a glare. Logan returned the glare with a shrug. Hank caught the exchange first and gave a slight elbow to Ben who had been close to continuing with another toast. The message was about to be passed on to Reed, but that was rendered unnecessary by Vic picking that time to speak up.

"One thing 'bout you, Jimmy? Yer 'bout as subtle as a porcupine inna nudist camp. Well, I did tell you back then that it wasn't th' time. Shoulda figured you wouldn't forget."

He paused as he looked over the others present, then shrugged.

"Don't guess this is somethin' yer gonna let lie without finding out either. T' bring th' rest o' you up t' speed, Jimmy an' me were talkin' 'bout loss an' I made a pretty vague reference t' a gal Jimmy'd never heard tell of."

Vic offered his glass over to be refilled again.

"I'm not what you'd call a date oriented person. Years kinda blend together. But I guess this all started... I dunno... mebbe 7 or 8 years 'fore everything went t' hell. I was doin' my shtick as a freelance assassin - had just finished up a job an' was takin' a break. Guess it's part o' th' trouble magnet alla us seem t' have inside that I picked a spot fer my break where shit was goin' down."

"There was this gal messin' with plants on th' rooftop. Nice piece o' scenery. Didn't really get a whole lot o' time t' admire th' view though 'fore I noticed somethin' was off. Stink in th' air. That was when I noticed a group that was apparently targetin' th' gal. Now, I had no intentions o' doin' a damn thing. I mean, hell - not like she was anythin' more t' me than any other stranger on th' street. But one o' those bozos happened t' notice me an' decided that he was gonna take out th' witness."

"Well, Jimmy here can attest t' th' fact that it's never a good thing t' make things personal with me. Bozos had pissed me off, so I tore into them. They wanted th' gal? Well, I was gonna take her so that they couldn't have her. No other reason than wantin' t' piss 'em off for messin' with me."

The four listeners just watched quietly as Vic took a drink. They could tell that he really wasn't entirely with them anymore. Vic never indulged much in the past for a reason. His memory was a very sensory one. When triggered, he tended to relive the situation to a degree.

"I didn't really register it at that moment, but th' gal actually opened her arms to me. I was just happy she wasn't gonna fight me as I took her off from them. Went to a little bolt-hole I had not too far from where we started an' went t' questionin' th' gal. I wanted t' know more 'bout why the' hell somebody would send a whole squad o' men after one little gal. Well, as most o' you have some idea - I've not got a sparklin' bedside manner when it comes t' askin' folks fer information, but in th' middle o' me explainin' what I might do if she don't tell me what gives? Woman practically attacks me - not with a knife though. That wouldn't have taken me off-guard. Woman kissed me."

Vic came back a bit and noted the expressions on his audience - which got a chuckle.

"Yeh - I likely had a similar look t' you four. I couldn't explain it - hell, she couldn't explain it. Bonnie had led a pretty sheltered life in most respects. It was like she'd sorta been sleepwalkin' through life an' I was a jolt o' caffeine that woke her up alla way."

A rather long pause followed that was finally ended by Vic taking another drink.

"No need t' relate most o' it. Whole damn thing happened literally overnight. Guys were tryin' t' get Bonnie back 'cause she was infected with a designer plague. There was only a few hours 'fore she would reach th' stage where she'd switch from bein' just a carrier an' start infectin' other folks. No antidote left an' no time t' get one. She never knew - I never told her. Once I found out what was goin' t' happen, I went back t' her - first symptoms were startin' t' affect her an' her scent had shifted. Held her for a minute - then broke her neck so she wouldn't suffer. One o' th' more intense twelve hour periods o' my life. Never have forgot that gal."

"Now that I've satisfied Jimmy's curiosity - can we change th' damn topic?"

* * *

_Author note:_

_For anyone wanting a fuller version of the above tale by Vic, the above is a very rough synopsis of the 4 comic mini-series Sabretooth : Mary Shelley Overdrive, written by Dan Jolley. Excerpts can be seen here_ _at this page - since I can't post a link, add the http part and angelfire dot com yourself,__ close up the spaces and stick html at the end. Kind of a pain to direct you, so sorry about that :_ **/ ns2 / wolv11 / tooth / bonnie**


	14. Chapter 14

The snows held off until around the middle of December, but then the weather acted as if it needed to make up for lost time. By the time the new year came, the snow was deep and difficult to travel in even for most of the ferals. Hunting was back to being down to a hunting party of two again - Logan and Creed. The snows were something they'd learned to deal with in their teens. As in those days, instead of each of them hunting solo, the two of them teamed up to track and kill the game.

The only ones that accompanied them were the ones bothered the least by the weather - McCoy, Drake and Ororo. They would come along, but stay at a distance, only coming into play after whatever the prey of the day was had been taken down. The three of them tended to the initial butchering then Drake would protect the carcass under a thick coating of ice. That left Logan and Creed free to cast around for other game without having to worry about their kill being taken by the other hungry predators in the area.

After three days of hunting barely provided enough meat for even one meal for the two groups, the brothers rested on a rise and considered their surroundings.

"The herds have gone farther south, Vic. Out of our range. Snow's are too damn deep up here for 'em to paw through."

"Yeah, looks like, Jimmy. So - we gonna follow the herds or try and make it through on our stores? 'Cause as it is, me an' you are just burnin' energy that we ain't catchin' enough grub t' replace."

"We could try huntin' further north around the hot springs. Snow ain't likely to be as deep there."

"Dangerous area though - we nearly lost you until th' spring thaw that one year. I'd rather leave that as a last option until we get folks livin' in that area."

"You thinking Emma and Scott might be up to claimin' that spot, Vic?"

"They'll need to claim somewhere come spring. Neither o' em have the temperament to live under either o' us and I'm not about to hand over my pride to them. You plan to pass over your pack?"

"Nope. Mebbe a few members will choose to go with a new group forming, but the majority will stay with me. Just like most of your group will stick by you."

"I don't want them thinkin' of it as either stickin' to us or not, Jimmy. If some o' 'em will be happier living the way Emma and Scott will have things, be better for all of us."

"Those that want to live less feral, you mean?"

"Partly. Those two are teachers like you and me are, but the subjects they know aren't so much about survival as they are civilization. We're gonna get to a point soon where our young are going to need to learn other things - readin', writin', science. We're gonna need some of our young to take over from Richards and McCoy someday. They both seem to be agin' normally - they ain't gonna be around forever."

"Wait, are you talkin' about them restarting up the Academy here, Vic?"

"Not really. A school? Yeah. But for all our kids. Not just the ones that are mutants. We can hash out this when spring comes though, Runt, Right now, we need to make a call."

"Guess we do at that. We got a lotta cubs, Vic. All of us following the herds? Ain't practical. Most of our folks aren't built for cold weather. But if those of us that can survive in it follow the herds, there'll be enough food in the stores for those that remain."

"Yer figurin' like I am then - even with all we stored, ain't enough put away to last all o' us until spring. I can trust Richards and Dorrie to take care of my folks that can't travel. You?"

"Grimm and Kitty. When?"

"Sooner th' better. All we're gonna get is thinner until we catch up with th' herds. We tell 'em tonight, spend the next day figurin' out who goes and who stays, day after we gather supplies an' day after that, we leave, all of us merged into one group."

"Agreed. Vic, you take lead for as long as this lasts. You've got a helluva lot more experience followin' herds than I'm likely to ever have."

"All right. Anything happens t' me, you take over. Rest of th' order we'll sort as we figure who's with us."

* * *

They each made the announcement to their own groups and, as expected, the news was met with a combination of concern, worry and resignation. The Pride took it better than the Pack did due to their general outlooks and temperament. Constant exposure to the very 'now' oriented and pragmatic Creed may not have given them all the same outlook, but they did all acknowledge the need to simply deal with what was necessary and move on. The acceptance of Reed and Dorrie as their interim leaders was also accepted by the Pride without any fuss.

Things ended up being settled in the Pack by the end of the day as well, but not without rears being nipped, as Rahne later described it to Creed. Not everyone that might have gone was going to - some had mates that couldn't take the weather. Others had skills that would be needed more by those remaining than by those following the herds. The main goal was that enough went to insure there would be enough food to take those remaining in the two groups to warmer weather.

From the Pride, Creed, Ororo, Drake, six others and associated young were going. Ten plus young were coming from the Pack making the overall group a little over thirty. Some questioned the youth of some of the children going, but knew that there was no way that the mothers were going to leave them behind in the care of others for that length of time.

The day of departure came with more than a few tearful goodbyes and heartfelt hugs. Erik didn't participate in either, but did confess to Lee and Dorrie that he had never expected to feel like he was going to miss Creed - a sentiment that both women found far funnier than he thought they should have.

Creed gave a roar to call his group to him for one last set of instructions.

"I expect to find this place intact with everyone accounted for when we get back. Listen to Reed, but you especially listen to Dorrie. That gal's got a good weather sense. She tells you to get your rumps inside, do it. We'll likely be gone until late April - snow this deep don't melt overnight."

Dorrie and Reed were the last two to say their goodbyes to their alphas, Dorrie giving their three children last minute hugs. She'd been the primary babysitter to all three since their births and it was a hard parting on both sides, but with a final ruffle of Dorrie's hair, Creed called his people to follow and they started off. Reaching down, he picked Adimu up, settling his tiny daughter to ride on his shoulders. Jamil was already settled against Ororo, the colorful cloth holding him firmly in place as she walked by Creed's side. Kamau was feeling rather grown up as he was allowed to walk beside them on his own.

Standing still with only her bushy tail twitching to show her feelings, Dorrie watched as the group slowly receded into the distance. Reed had his arm wrapped around her (several times - although older, his body was still as elastic as ever) and finally Erik stepped up as well, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"The time will pass faster than you know, Doreen. Winter never lasts forever and before long, your little army will spot them coming back to us. Then we will all gather here to greet them just as we gathered here to bid them farewell."

After a moment of silence, she gave Reed a light kiss, then turned and gave Erik a smile before taking a deep breath and looking to the rest of those gathered.

"Make sure there's plenty of fuel inside. I don't think we're looking at snow, but the cold is going to be pretty intense."

Everyone took that for exactly what it was - a signal that it was time to put the parting behind them and get on with their daily lives. There was clean snow to gather to melt for drinking water, food to bring up from their stores and dozens of other tasks to do while the brief sunlight of the winter's day lasted.

As Erik turned to join the rest of the Pride heading back to their area, he mused about Creed's last instructions. It centered on worry for those left behind and contained no worry at all for those that were going out to follow the herds. The sigh he released was soft enough that only Dorrie gave him a concerned glance. He gave her a smile.

"Nothing for you to worry about, my dear. Only an old man wondering at how blind he was for so many years."

Dorrie shook her head, then pointed. At first, Erik had no idea why she was pointing at a bank of snow, then a sudden flurry of activity revealed the snow-white rabbit that had been hiding there.

"Not blind. You were fooled by someone adept at the art of camouflage. He'd been doing it since before you were born, so I don't think it's any discredit to you that you couldn't see through it. People are easier to deal with when they underestimate your abilities."

"I take it that you are speaking from experience?"

Her light laughter spilled out as she turned to give him a teasing look.

"Would you have allowed anyone else in this group to get close enough to you to have cut you the way I did?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Erik's laughter joined hers.

"Guilty as charged, my dear. I have had to rethink many pre-conceived notions since that day."

"That's nice. Always good to discover you aren't too old to learn new things."

Erik considered that comment was one more thing that the rest of the Pride found far funnier than it was.


End file.
